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My first day in the kitchen I felt like too much to explore here, this sea is too vast for you to swim.

Honestly I didn’t see anything for the first couple of hours as I was behind three big bags of onions peeling and chopping. I was in a pool of tears. In that drown I even forget my house telephone number and address!!

In the afternoon session I thought it’s going to be the, last day of my life. I was in tandoor kitchen. First day of jim in my life. After mixing that 5 kg of dough for nan bread, I felt myself as a Mike Tyson in the ring. Taking out my first nan bread from that tandoor oven, I realised am working on a real furnace. Coming from a cushy college to a kitchen was like working for a day care then switching to coal mining. Then I knew many more suicidal episodes are waiting for you to come, and have to accept it.

Few new things I learnt on the day are

Ask chef to taste dishes you have completed, his opinion is the law.

Warn everyone clearly and loudly when moving sharp and hot objects because you are too dangerous.

Don’t mistreat the dish washer; he is the most important crew member because when he is gone you will hate your life.

Don’t mess around with the chef; a happy chef is the best boss ever.

Everything on TV shows about kitchen is fake. Forget it.

Learn sorry in all International languages, will come in use.

Always remember that you’re a new un-greased cog in an otherwise well-oiled machine. Find a way to fit into the mechanism in the most seamless way possible and you`ll quickly become valuable.

Few other wonders hooked on my eyes are making sugar sculptures, ice carvings, butter sculptures, bread modelling, cheese carvings, vegetable and fruit carvings, tossing a romali roti, making kerala parathas and working on a wok in Chinese kitchen.

How to toss in a wok:
The first thing to know is that tossing should only be attempted in cookware with curved, sloping sides. The mechanics of food tossing is kind of like ski jumping, and ski jumpers race downhill towards a ramp, not a wall. In fact, let’s use ski jumping as an analogy.

The first thing the ski jumper has to do is race downhill towards the ramp. That’s what you need to do with the food. But first, it’s always a good idea to give the food a quick stir with a spoon, spatula, or tongs, just to make sure everything is sliding well in the pan and not stuck. Once you’re sure the food is free and clear to jump, give it a downward thrust towards the far slope of the pan.

Now our ski-jumping analogy ends, because if we were to stick with it, you’d let the food go shooting out of the pan and onto whatever’s in front of you, and we don’t want that. Instead, just as the food is beginning to launch out of the pan, you want to lift the front edge of the pan while pulling back ever so slightly, to redirect the food’s trajectory so that it shoots up vertically, or—even better—backwards and slightly towards you.
With the food airborne and, we hope, you next need to bring the pan slightly forward again to catch all the food as it comes down. Execute it well and all of the food will end up right where it started and not on the floor. Note that once you get the hang of this motion, you can loop it so that the forward movement in this last step of catching the food simultaneously functions as the forward movement of the next launch.

My first attempt in that wok was Indo-Chinese fried rice and chilli chicken which I am sharing the recipe here.

Cook the rice with separated grains and allow it to cool down in a plate.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil and pour in the seasoned eggs.

Stir and cook till they are done.

Keep them aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a butter and sauté onions and green chillies for 5 min. Add in the ginger garlic paste and sauté.

Add in the finely chopped vegetables and cook on low flame for exactly 5 to 7 minutes. Add soy sauce and keep the flame high for 3 min. Reduce the flame and add in rice, cooked eggs and give it a good mix. Sprinkle some spring onions and serve hot!

Dear Sumith,I did miss a few of your posts,and I am upset about it.I love your recipes,your art,and your sense of humor. Ski-jumping indeed! I will ‘unfollow”and then “follow” you again – let’s see if it solves the problem.

Haha Dolly, love your sense of humour as well. Love your blog as well especially your stories and history. After a long hectic busy week today I will be getting some time tonight. Loads to catch up.. love you Dolly😊

Hi Herschelian, nice to meet you. It is nice to talk on your interests with your loved ones. I could talk on food with you all long day😂😂. In between me too love chilly chicken. Posting a similar one on soya in my next post, discovering a sixth sense in cooking!!

The recipes are very nice. I enjoyed your story and humor most. Nothing to say about the photos. As usual very attractive with the beautiful composition.
By the way, just finished my Kerala trip ( Wayanar, Kozhikode, Alleppey and Cochin). It was an amazing trip. Your info helped me a lot to explore Kerala in a different way. Thanks much, dear.

Thank you sayanti, glad you enjoyed the read, photo and the recipe. So happy to hear you had a great time in kerala. If we were on holidays there, could have entertained you all bit more. I think you missed munnar from that list. Hoping to see kerala holiday photographs in your next posts. Regards:)

Fabulous write up Sumith. I think the lessons you learned on that first day apply to many jobs and not just becoming a chef.. Always respect the dish washer… they keep the work flowing smoothly and as you say – no dishwasher and all comes to a big messy pile up!! This sounds like a great recipe and I’m definitely printing it off to try very soon.. Thanks for sharing and bringing your recipes to life.. x

Hi Wendy, appreciate your time taken to read my recipes of life!! On a flow of work, if one stops every thing will start piling up😂 Pot washers- “law of motion” is applicable to all jobs.😄😂 Let’s make our life more cheerful. Have a nice day.

Looks like a great recipe. Will def. try. As for chefs…hmmm what can I say? Most of the chefs I have worked with in the past are terribly grumpy-they are under a lot of pressure…plus it is hot in the kitchen. True, a happy chef is indeed a good boss. Sadly for me, most of the chefs I have worked with/under-aspire to be more like Gordon Ramsay with their sarcastic and snarky comments aimed directly at me and others. Of course, this is not the same for all chefs. Aahhh….sorry to vent. But really a great recipe. Thanks for sharing Sumith. 😉

Oh, Ajinomoto! Is that world-widely known/used product!
You’ve learnt a lot (and are supposed to do through your life), which is wonderful. Looks sooo good and I like the presentation! (I’ll get a Balti pan in the UK!!)

Hi Rotwein, Ajinomotto or monosodium glutamate gives that umami flavour to these foods. Even in soya sauce contains this. This the reason we get very dehydrated after a heavy Chinese meal. Thanks for your compliment. Let’s join to start a Balti pan in UK😂

‘With the food airborne and, we hope, you next need to bring the pan slightly forward again to catch all the food as it comes down. Execute it well and all of the food will end up right where it started and not on the floor.’

I actually visualized this episode as you described it so well. Wonder, how much practice it takes to juggle food. 😀